Solaris 8 Training Guide (310-011 and 310-012): System Administrator Certification (Pt.I, II) [Paperback]

Bill Calkins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1578702593 | ISBN-13: 978-1578702596 | Publication Date: October 21, 2001

This title offers the perfect self-study tool to allow you to prepare confidently at your own pace, in your own time. Comprehensive and focused on teaching what you need to understand --- not just facts you need to know - this book is the most complete test preparation tool available on the market. Structured according to the exam objectives, Solaris 8 Training Guide (310-11 and 310-012): System Administrator Certification prepares you by concentrating on subjects such as:

• System startup and customization
• User security
• Software administration
• Writing scripts
• Networking

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I highly recommend it for anyone seeking Solaris Certification, or anyone looking for a comprehensive reference on Solaris 8.” -- Brian Howard, System Engineer & Solaris(TM) Operating Environment Ambassador, Sun Microsystems

"technically complete and accurate, but doesn't overwhelm the reader with unnecessary technical jargon. ExamGear is superior to others I've analyzed." -- John Gilbert, Instructor, El Paso Community College

“It's very easy reading and flows very nicely. This book is very valuable in your preparation for the certification testing.” -- David Scholten, Senior IT Professional, Smiths Industries

“a well written book that covers Solaris 8 thoroughly and includes nuggets of information that I have not found elsewhere." -- Selwyn Schultz, UNIX System Administrator, Herman Miller Corporation

From the Publisher

This title offers the perfect self-study tool to allow you to prepare confidently at your own pace, in your own time. Comprehensive and focused on teaching what you need to understand--not just facts you need to know--this book is the most complete test preparation tool available on the market. Structured according to the exam objectives, Solaris 8 Training Guide (310-011 and 310-012): System Administrator Certification prepares you by concentrating on subjects such as:

• System startup and customization
• User security
• Software administration
• Writing scripts
• Networking

Expert author Bill Calkins's extensive compilation of real-world experiences, including warnings about possible pitfalls, will help administrators obtain Solaris 8 certification. As a best-selling author and revered instructor/consultant, Bill Calkins is very much a Voice That Matters in the Solaris community. The owner and president of Pyramid Consulting (near Grand Rapids, Mich.), Calkins has more than 17 years of experience in UNIX system administration and consulting with more than 90 companies. As an instructor, he worked in both corporate and university settings, guiding several hundred toward their Solaris certifications.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 1008 pages
• Publisher: Que (October 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578702593
• ISBN-13: 978-1578702596
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,797,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #89 in Books > Computers & Technology > Operating Systems > Solaris

More About the Author

I've been writing Solaris books since 1997 and have been working with Solaris since 1984. I began my career in 1983 as a Unix System Administrator with an office furniture company, Haworth Inc, in Holland MI. My first system was a Sun-1 with a motorola 68010 processor and 1 MB of RAM. I was managing 12 diskless clients networked to a few Sun 68010 servers running some very early version of SunOS- 4.x. Like many Unix Admins back then, I had minimal prior computer experience, my experience was in mechanical design/engineering. I had to go back to school and "re-tool".

After 12 years, I got a bit fed up with the corporate life and decided to break away and go out on my own. I also understood, that to really get good in this field, I had to be exposed to many different environments and flavors of Unix. Therefore, I began my real training when I started Pyramid Consulting in 1994- providing Unix consulting and training services to corporations. Since then, I've worked at over 200 companies providing Unix and Open Systems support on just about every flavor of Unix that's been put into production. Because corporations only call on consultants when there are problems to be solved, the training I've received over the past 12 years has been priceless. Where else do you get paid to learn! I've also trained hundreds of system admionistrators in Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX.

I began writing Solaris books in 1998. Why Solaris? It's not that I favor one version of Unix over another, besides, as a consultant, I need to be unbiased. The publisher was looking to fill the void on Solaris books and I thought "Why not a certification study guide". At the time there were countless books on Microsoft certification, but nothing on Unix. I had also just attempted to pass the Solaris cert exams unsuccessfully. In Solaris, there are countless ways to accomplish a task; many are correct, but Sun was looking for their answer- not mine. The only way to get these answers were to take Sun training courses or buy a course guide in the aftermarket for $500. As a small business owner, this was an expensive proposition. So I decided to write my own training guide. Not a cram book, but a book that really taught you the material. Something that could also serve as a daily reference guide. I remember how it was to learn this topic, so I've made these books as easy to understand as possible. I believe that's the niche I have in this market- I know the material very well, I have a great deal of experience, and I can communicate the material to new users in a way that they can understand it. I consistently receive 5 stars on my training courses because I make the material relevent and understandable.

Over the years readers have written me with what they've liked and disliked about the book. Now, seven revisions later- we have a textbook that is perfect for those wanting to learn Solaris Administration. It's also a great book for those admins that want to learn more about their craft. I guarantee, every experienced admin will learn something from this book. Every time I update this book I learn new things, I'm convinced you will too. It's written in a way that new Admins can understand it. My goal is not to impress the reader with what I know, it's to present the material in clear, easy to understand terms. I provide lots of step by step examples (in my courses I call them mini-labs) that are relevant to daily operations. The material is presented the same way I present it in the classroom, in fact, it's the same material I use in the classroom.

I hope you enjoy my books- some tell me it's one of the only technical manuals they've been able to cuddle up to a fire with. Well, I personally have better things to cuddle up with, but to each their own. Enjoy the read and, whether you decide to pursue certification or not, good luck!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars does the job well, June 8, 2002

By 

justsomeguyinla "justsomeguyinla" (Temple City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solaris 8 Training Guide (310-011 and 310-012): System Administrator Certification (Pt.I, II) (Paperback)

For the purpose of studying for the Solaris 8 Administrator exams, I found this book (and accompanying CD) very helpful. I am an experienced administrator, and the format of the book allowed me to breeze past chapters and concepts I was already comfortable with and focus on those concepts that I had little or no experience with (e.g. NIS, cachefs). In those chapters I focused on, I found enough material to be comfortable answering questions on that topic in the exams.

If nothing else, buy the book for the accompanying CD. It includes practice exams and study questions with a very similar feel and content to the actual exams. It also includes the entire book (which is quite thick) in PDF format, so you can read and work through the examples right on your computer.

I did find many errors (some typos, some in content), but cetainly not enough to get very frustrated with the book. (And unfortunately, not any more errors than other technical books I read of similar size).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but let down by numerous typos, November 26, 2001

By 

Mark R. Berry "Piket" (NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Solaris 8 Training Guide (310-011 and 310-012): System Administrator Certification (Pt.I, II) (Paperback)

I got this book to do my Solaris Certification and think that it does this job well, but it is also a very useful Solaris system admin reference. Bill Calkins presents the subject in an easy to read well presented style, with lots of examples.

The test software on the CD ROM is an excellent way to prepare for the exam and helps you to find out where you are weak so that you can concentrate on these areas.

The only thing that lets this book down is the numerous printing errors. The whole index is incorrect (you can download a corrected copy in PDF format from New Riders web site) and there are many mistakes throughout the - don't the publishers bother with proof reading anymore? This annoying when you pay (...) for a book, but even more so in that you may being going into the exam with information that is not correct.

This is why I have to give the book a 4 star rating and not 5.

I would recommend this book, but you may want to wait until an updated version is released that corrects the errors.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I just passed 310-012 (94%) with this book, May 30, 2002

By 

Tom Hagan (Bradenton, Fla) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solaris 8 Training Guide (310-011 and 310-012): System Administrator Certification (Pt.I, II) (Paperback)

I passed 310-011 (87%) in April and just passed 310-012 (94%) using this book. The errata at the author's website was up to date and had any typos corrected. I emailed the author two times on name services and RBAC- he responded promptly both times, shared additional resources, and was very helpful. I found the CD-ROM exams to be a great self assessment tool to focus in on my weaknesses so I could go back and study those specific areas. Furthermore, the questions were right on for the real exam.
Overall, a very well-written book, lots of examples, step by steps, screen shots, etc. Very easy to read even if you are not in front of a Sun system to practice the examples. It's the best book I've found on Solaris Admin.